Means for gauging material



July 28, 1931. F. c. BIGGERT, JR

MEANS FOR GAUGING MATERIAL Filed Oct. 28, 1927 INVENTOR Patented July- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 rnommcn armour, .12., or cwron, iuin'nsnvmm, nearer-on- 'ro um'ran mrenmEBme-a rounnavcomm. or rxrrsnuaen, rmmsnvmm, A common- TION or rmmsxnvmm amass roa'eaudme MATERIAL I Application filed October 28,

This invention relates to a method and means for gauging material, and more particularly to such a method and means for use with.moving material such as the strips in [pf rolling mills and other material in lengths ada ted to be moved ast'a given point.

' T e invention willbe described as ap lied to the gauging of a metal strip in a ro ling mill, althou h it is to bedistinctly under- 10 stood-that t e same is not limited to such an application nor to the specific form of a paratus shown in the drawings, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the claims appended Q18 hereto. p

' In rolling mills it is important that the material being rolled shall be of a substantially uniform" thickness throughout, and the material must consequently be gauged at fre- 20 quent intervals. This gauging is customarily done b hand by the use of a gauge comprising a orked member one arm of vwhich is provided with an adjustable gauging means adapted to be moved towar and awayjrom the material. Due to the high speed of the moving strip, it'- has heretofore been found necessary 'to stop the movement of the stri for the gauging operation when the 'forke gauge is used. I he gauge is screwed down onto the stri until it makesfirm contact on both sides t ereof and then it is pulled off and the reading taken. This procedure has 'a number of inherent disadvantages in that the strip must be stop ed for gauging, the gauge must be screwed own to contact with the strip only at one localized point and the gaugemust be withdrawnby ullin it over the more or less rough surace 0 the strip in order to take-the gauge reading. a i Thus itis dificult to get anaccurate reading, for in withdra'wing the gauge 'its'adlustr ment is very likely to be nterfered with. Furthermore, the operator has no means of determinin whether the auge is in roper gaugingre ationship to te materia other than the feel of the gauge, which is at best uncertaimj 'j The invention contemplates a method and -"theans' for gauging material whereby moving i927. serial No. 225,408; material may be easily and accurately gauged without the necessity of its being stopped, the

auge may be easily brou ht into and .outof gauging relationship wit the mate'rial,'an

indication is made at a point remote from the material as to whether the gauging members are in proper gauging relationship with the material, and the gauge may be withdrawn without disturbing its adjustment. To this end I provide a gauge havin material engaging members forme'd' wit anti-friction means so that the gauge may be brought into the requisite contact with the movin material and at the same time itself remaln statlonary and give an accurate reading. -The. materlal engaging members are preferably the operator may always be sure of taking the reading when the gauging members are in proper gauging relationshi with the material, means are provided when such relationship is established.

In the accompanying drawings I have. shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein p a Fig. 1 is'a plan'view of a gauge; and.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in cross section, of the gauge shown in Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 designates general ly' a material the'thicknessiof which is to be gauged. The uge comprises a pair of levars-3 and 4 which are insulated from one another and pivoted together at 5. Each of the levers 3 and 4 has journaled in one of its extremities an anti-friction ugi ng member or wheel 6. These gauge w eelsare adapted to rotate about axes extending generally in the direction of ,the lengths of the respective levers and contact with the surfaces of the material at substantially opposite pointsso that the distance between the gauge wheelsis the measure of the thickness of the material. 7 -'I he lever 3 is provided with a micrometer 7 at a point opposite the pivot 5 from its .gaugewheel 6.- Adapted to cooperate Twith or indicating the micrometer, and disposed .in a suitable threaded hub in the lever 4 is a contact screw position by tightening the lock nut 9. The.

end. surface of the micrometer 7 contacts with the end surface of the contact screw 8,-

' the micrometer being setso that its reading when in contact withthe' screw-'8 re resents the distance between the gauge w reels 6. The micrometer reading is, therefore, set at zero when the gauge wheels are in. contact with-each other. As the gauge wheels recede from each other it will be seen that if the micrometer is maintained in contact with the screw 8, its reading will increase.

The distance from the point of. contact of the gauge wheels 6 to the pivot 5 may be made the same as the distance from the point of contact of the micrometer 7 and the screw 8 to the pivot 5. In this case an increment of the micrometer reading will be equal to a correspondin .increment of the distance of separation o the gauge wheels 6. If the lever arms on oppositesldes of the pivot 5 are not the same length, the micrometer must. be

aduated to take into aco'un't the 'difierence 1n the lengths of the lever arms if a direct reading is to be obtained.

The insulated connection betwen the levers 3 and ,4 is shown in cross section in Fig. 2.

The pivot pin 5 has a ortion 10 of a relative- 1y large diameter an a ortion 11 of a relatlvely small diameter. urrounding' the portion 10 is a collar 12 of insulatin material. Theoutside diameter of this col air is such that it fits within a suitable hole drilled in the lever 3so that the collar is inter osed between the lever and the pivot pin. is'posed M on the pivot. pin at both sides of the lever 3 are similar insulating washers 13 which cooperate with the collar 12 to insure completeinsulation of the pin 5 from the lever 3, and also to insure insulation between the respective levers 3 and 4. A-hole 'is drilled in the lever 4 of a size suitable to receive the portion 11 of the pin. The pin may be provided with a head or ma be riveted to thelever 4 at one end and may rovided with a suitable metal washer 14 an nuts.15 at the other end.

The micrometer 7 is mounted in the lever 3'- by means of a construction such as that shown, wherein aninsulating collar 16 surrounding a portion of the stem of. the micrometer insulates the latter from the lever. The lever is slotted at 17 so that the micrometer may be easil inserted and the lever is tightened about 't e stem of the micrometer by meansof bolts 18. A spring 19 is pro vided for creating a tendency for the gauge to remain inopen position so that when gripped with the hand a sli ht resistance to closing it upon the materia will beofiered.

The spring 19is secured to the lever 3 by operator;

23. If the spring 19 is made of metal, therefore, it will not establishan electrical contact with the lever 3.

The handles of the levers are insulated by any suitable material such as tape 24 so that when the tool is grasped by the operator, his hands will be insulated from it. Thus there is provided a pair of pivoted gauge levers entlrel insulated one from the other throug out so that no electrical contact is established therebetween. P

The lever 3 is provided with-a connecting screw 25 which connects to it an electrical conductor or wire 26, such wire in turn leading toone terminal of a suitable dry cell battery 27. The opposite terminal of the battery is connected by a conductor 28 to a lamp 29, and the lamp is in turn connected by a conductor 30 to a'connecting screw 31 in the lever 4. The battery 27 is preferably of such a size as to conveniently fit into a mans pocket and the lamp 29 may be provided with a support to hang about the operators neck or be in some way attached to his person. v

When a connection is made between the two gauge wheels 6, as will be the case when the wheels are in contact withppposite sides of a material which conducts electricity, a circuit is closed from the battery throu h the lever 3, the material 2, and lever 4, t e

lamp 29 and back to the battery. The closing of the circuit will cause the lamp to light.

n operation the operator places the gauge over the edge ofv a moving strip of material in such a manner that one of the gauge wheels 6, which may conveniently be that which is uppermost, is in contact withthe upper surface of the strip 2. At such time the micrometer will be screwed down so that when the handles are squeezed together the micrometer and the contact screw 8 revent the lower' gauge wheel from touchlng the under side of the strip. ,While-squeezing the I handles the operator then turns the micrometer screw so that the lower gauge wheel (glradually rises until it just touches the uner surface of the strip, as above described,-

and the lamp is lit. Theillumination of the lamp is a signal to the operator that the gau e is set at the correct reading for the thic ess of the strip. It will be understood that a bell or other suitable indicating means may be used in place of the lamp 29.

After the micrometer has been set to indicate the thickness of the stri the operator may. release the handles an gauge to read the micrometer-without diswithdraw the turbmg its adjustment. Furthermore, the

by reason of the indicating light 29, knows exactly when thegauge is set to the correct thickness of the stri 4 The gauge is, therefore, to a great extent oolproof and ada ted to quite accurately determine the thic mess of the material with very little trouble or effort on the part of the operator.

I claim: 1. In a gauge, apair of pivoted members insulated from each other and provided with means for engaging a material to be gauged,

and means for compensating for wear of said engaging means so that said indicating means can always be made to function correctly.

In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand.

FLORENCE O. BIGGERT, JR.

and means providing with the material an" electric circuit adapted to b'e closed' upon contact ofv the engaging means with the material to indicate that the gauge is in gauging contact with the material.

2. In a gauge, a'pair of members connected together by a pivot insulated from one of the members and having means for engaging ma terial to be gauged, and means providing an electric circuit through the members and the and engaging with the sides of the same member, whereby the two members are pivotally connected yet insulated from each other.

4. In combination, a pair of levers insulated from each other havin means for engaging material to be gauge and means forming with the material an electrical circuit including a source of electrical energy, indicating means and the two insulated levers, whereby the indicating means will be operated upon contact of the engagin means with the material provided the latter e an electric conductor.

5. In a auge, a pair of pivoted members insulated rom each otherand provided with means for engaging a material to be gauged, means providing with the material an electric circuit adapted to be closed upon contact of the engaging means with the material;

to indicate that the gauge is in gauging contact with the material, and indicating means for determining a dimension of sai'd material.

6. In a auge, a pair of pivoted members insulated rom each other and provided with rollers for engaging a material to be gauged,

and means providing with the material an electric circuit adapted to be closed upon contact of said rollers with the material to indicate that the gauge is in gauging contact with the material, and indicating means for determmmg a dimension of said material.

.7. In a gauge, a pair of pivoted members insulated from each otherand provided with means for engaging a material to be gauged, and means providing with the material 'an electnc circuit adapted to beclosed upon contact of the engaging means with the material to indicate that the gauge in gauging contact withthe material, mdicatin means for determining a dimension of said material, 

